Los Feliz Mixed-Use Advancing After Appeal Rejected

A mixed-use development in Los Feliz will move forward after facing an appeal that threatened to stop it from rising.

The Los Angeles City Council voted to uphold the approval of a project from Benny Pirian of Vermont Real Estate that would replace a car wash at 1666 North Vermont Avenue, Urbanize Los Angeles reported. The vote affirms a previous decision by the Los Angeles City Planning Commission to allow the development to proceed.

Under Vermont Real Estate’s plan, the car wash, located near Barnsdall Art Park at the busy intersection of Hollywood Boulevard and North Vermont Avenue, would be replaced by a seven-story building with 139 studio, one- and two-bedroom apartments. The ground floor would feature a grocery store and residents would have access to parking for 145 vehicles.

Because of its proximity to the Vermont/Sunset Metro station, the approved plans for the project include Transit Oriented Communities affordable housing incentives, clearing the way to build a larger building than zoning rules would normally allow. The developer would have to set aside 16 of the new apartments for affordable housing for extremely-low-income Angelenos. For one person to qualify, they would have to make $31,850 or less annually; a household of four would be limited to an income of $45,450.

Designs are being handled by Daryoush Safai, per Urbanize. The contemporary podium building would come with an outward-facing courtyard against Hollywood Boulevard.

The Supporters Alliance for Environmental Responsibility (SAFER), an affiliate of Laborers International Union of North America Local 270 (LIUNA), filed an appeal against the project that led to its latest bureaucratic snag. That appeal came after a previous one before the Planning Commission in October 2024 was rejected. In its most recent attempt, SAFER urged the Planning Commission to pause the proposed development to allow for further environmental study.

Vermont Real Estate’s development would join two other mixed-use complexes near Barnsdall Art Park. LaTerra Development recently completed two buildings next to the park at 4850 and 4900 Hollywood Boulevard, while Lazer Properties is building an 86-unit complex with ground-floor retail across the street from the park at 4773 Hollywood Boulevard, according to Urbanize.

— Chris Malone Méndez